Hi,
I'm working on a case for the iPod nano 6 that would essentially turn it into a pocketwatch. The problem is that since the case needs to be 6cm diameter (the diagonal of the ipod), it ends up being almost $50 for the case.

I went back to blender, and started hollowing it out (by adding meshes inside the mesh itself, essentially making it hollow), but the price does not change one cent.

I'm talking about WSF, not some fancy material, how does something like that end up being so expensive? and why does hollowing it out not affect anything?

If your model were a solid 6 cm dia x 1 cm thick, it would be a little over 28cc & under $50 - are the units of measurement and the dimensions correct on the model page?

For hollowing out, you need to connect the inner shell to the outer shell with a tunnel or hole that forms the 'escape hole' for the support material after printing - no escape hole = not hollow model.

i.materialize seems to have options in about the same sizes for a much lower price, how are they able to do this, then? Is the quality different?

Have you checked that you are comparing like with like? In the past, for a same sized model in the same or similar material, my experience is that they are more expensive. If this has indeed changed, that would be interesting.

So, i.materialise's pricing seems to be a different model: If it fits within a certain volume, it gets x price, no matter the actual volume.

The scales you showed and my pocketwatch both fit within the 125cm^3 volume, so they get charged the same no matter what.

I'm staying with shapeways though, as the quality is apparently better and the detail is nicer, and that's what's the most important to me. Plus the fact that the price for shipping totally kills their price advantage over shapeways, so it's not even that much of a difference at the end.

Anyways, what materials would you guys think an ipod cover/pocketwatch should be made out of? I'm planning for WSF or CSF, seeing as it does need to safely hold an ipod, but I don't know much about this.

with the volume not changing I wonder if it the face normals are not correctly oriented.they are very important for defining material volume.you can attach the blend file here in a post if you want someone to take a look at it.The Solidify mod is nice for creating wall thickness in Blender

Have any questions regarding Blender, and need fast answers, you are always welcome at the IRC Server Freenode, channel #blender. As a bonus, several there have experience in modelling for 3D prints.

with the volume not changing I wonder if it the face normals are not correctly oriented.they are very important for defining material volume.you can attach the blend file here in a post if you want someone to take a look at it.The Solidify mod is nice for creating wall thickness in Blender